Old Bodie Building

[GB1]

Got a roll of negative film back the other day. I have an FE2 that I used as a backup for many years and had slapped a roll of Fuji Reala in it many months ago, not sure if the film was affected by desert heat cause it looks a little washed out.

Anyway, this is a shot of the ghost town Bodie. Comments?

GB

[CLKunst]

Neat scene GB, I have got to get to that Bodie place some day!

Looks like there's a lot of highlight and shadow trouble going on here. Seems like the opposite time of day would have been what you really wanted for this shot. As it is, you have the face of your main subject in deep shadow and what should be details in the distance, the roofs of the town and church, are washed out by lens flare.

Did you already work this in post processing or is this straight off the negative?

[Overbeyond]

It sure has that ghostly ghost town atmosphere and funnily enough that little bit of wash out adds to it. A little extra contrast perhaph might improve. I would imagine it to be a good place to be in with a camera.
Tom

[Ronnoco]

The only thing done in this edit was brightening the exposure and keeping the sky dramatic.

Ronnoco

[Greg McCary]

I didn't think the original was to dark, but I like the lightened one too. I love the colors and subject. It is a great picture. The only thing I see is some sort of green flare just to the right of the cross on the church. An easy PS fix. Other than that I love the picture. I am going to have to try some Fuji Reala. How did you lighten it Ron, did you lasso the foreground?
Greg

[Ronnoco]

I didn't think the original was to dark, but I like the lightened one too. I love the colors and subject. It is a great picture. The only thing I see is some sort of green flare just to the right of the cross on the church. An easy PS fix. Other than that I love the picture. I am going to have to try some Fuji Reala. How did you lighten it Ron, did you lasso the foreground?
Greg

I used the magic wand on the sky, did an invert, and then lightened the foreground. I used Corel Paint Shop Pro X, which is very similar to Photoshop but has different approaches to colour management. It is very fast and efficient on some types of shots, although I still use Photoshop too.

Ronnoco

[Greg McCary]

Thanks Ron....

[GB1]

Thks for the comments (and edit). Cindy... you're prob right about the time of the day. I didnt check to see if this side of the building was facing north.. probably is. I did have to PP it a bit, but Ronnoco showed me what I was missing (more exp on all cept the sky). It's a great place to photograph although I only spent about 1 and a half hours there where it would really take half the day or more. The only issue is that it's a state park so you don't get free reign there. However, this also prevents vandalism.

Ronnoco, OverAndBeyond - Thks for the edit and hint. Ronnoco I like what you produced though somehow the grain shot up drastically. I tried my own using that approach - seems a little less grainy. I also use Corel products (PhotoPaint here). I used the contrast just a tad too.See the attached try.

Greg, no idea where that green flare came from. I tried editing it out. Reala is excellant for people shots and not all that bad for landscapes too. Just watch it in a very green area cause it adds even more - GB

PS (edit) - It doesnt really seem that this one's grain is much different, actually...

[Ronnoco]

Thks for the comments (and edit). Cindy... you're prob right about the time of the day. I didnt check to see if this side of the building was facing north.. probably is. I did have to PP it a bit, but Ronnoco showed me what I was missing (more exp on all cept the sky). It's a great place to photograph although I only spent about 1 and a half hours there where it would really take half the day or more. The only issue is that it's a state park so you don't get free reign there. However, this also prevents vandalism.

Ronnoco, OverAndBeyond - Thks for the edit and hint. Ronnoco I like what you produced though somehow the grain shot up drastically. I tried my own using that approach - seems a little less grainy. I also use Corel products (PhotoPaint here). I used the contrast just a tad too.See the attached try.

Greg, no idea where that green flare came from. I tried editing it out. Reala is excellant for people shots and not all that bad for landscapes too. Just watch it in a very green area cause it adds even more - GB

PS (edit) - It doesnt really seem that this one's grain is much different, actually...

I have said before GB, that the way to keep the grain down is to do the editing in 16 bit. I could not do that, because I did not have access to the original.

Ronnoco

[Ronnoco]

The problem with your edit, GB, is that you are still losing detail in the front of the building.

Ronnoco

[gahspidy]

GB,you have captured this scene very well. Your framing, with the box in the fg, building to the left with bg buildings trailing off to the horizon is well done.Yes, the original needed a bit of post processing, and your final edit is right on the mark. I have used Reala quite a bit and find it delivers very neutral, muted colors. . .which I feel was perfect for this scene. The green flare does not bother me, and can be easily removed anyway. Great shot.

[Mustang81]

Great framing and I feel that the fact the the film was a bit washed out actually adds to the mood of the pic.

[GB1]

Sorry Ronnoco, I was unaware of your early posting on the subject of 16-bit images and grain (not that anyone can be expected to read every posting, I might add... ) I'm not sure I want to take it as far as you did on the front of the building, for it seems a bit unnatural to me with all sides of the building being of equal density. It DOES show all the detail, a good thing, but at a price. There's always the question of how far to go with it. Like politics and religion, that sparks disagreements. Usually the editor wins.

Gary, thks for commenting. The green flare must indeed be sun flare.. just came out green, which I have never seen before.

Mustang,I agree that the washed out look does some good stuff here in addition to bad stuff. Perhaps it makes it feel like an old photograph that's fading out?

[Greg McCary]

I like the last one posted best GB1. This is one of your best. I really like the colors, as Gary stated it goes well with the scene. I'm going to ask Santa to put some Reala in my stocking. Good work...
Greg

[Frog]

I like the composition a lot.
I've gone back and forth between your and ronnoco's edit.
I'm thinking I like yours a bit better but if I may suggest, I think the box in foreground and the side of the building directly behind the main building need some work to balance them with the rest of the editing.
I'm not an expert so I may be quite off.......just seems to me.
I'd love to be able to get down there and shoot some pics.......Would probably have to spend a couple of weeks....lol

[GB1]

Thks Greg, Frog. I'm surprised on the response to this one. At first I didnt even think I had a keeper. I cropped it quite a bit to get what you see here and I think that made a difference.

Greg for old film holdouts it seems that Reala is an amazing film for general shooting. Not that the Kodak is bad either. I am constantly amazed at the improvements to film technology over the years. But I expect the film R&D to stop soon. The question is, how does digital compare to film right now? Is its color as good? Does it have the depth? If the answer is no, perhaps the convenience and lower cost simply outweigh these.

Frog - don't go to Bodie in the winter. They say the weather is horrible - very cold, windy, and sometimes snowy (but think of the pix in the snow!). You're right about balancing the objects - this shot could really use some detailed PP. I find Ronnoco's edit superior in detail but I really need to find the right balance.

GB